The Hunt

[Professor]

I apologize in advance for my digression...

 

You know a lot of the fun for me as a collector was the hunt for a new figure whether it be a chase figure or variant or whatever. I enjoyed the hunt and the thrill of finding the figure you're looking for. One of my most exciting finds was a Darth Revan and Darth Malek hanging on the pags at my local Walmart. Additionally, when I found all the variants from the Marvel Legends Onslaught wave at Toys'R'Us on clearance no less. But getting out there, searching, and finding the figures.

 

I moved a few years ago and this crap town only has a Walmart which never gets any good toys. A single wave will crowd the pegs for months because they order way too much in the beginning and it never sells and then they never replenish. They do not get any Walmart exclusives and there is nowhere else to hunt for them. On top of that the toys I enjoy have pretty much disappeared from the market. No Marvel Legends to speak of, except of course at Toys'R'Us which is over 150 miles away.

 

Buying online to complete my collection has become a must but it brings me much less joy then the thrill of the hunt. What are your thoughts, is the thrill of the hunt part of the fun or is it mostly completing your collecting on that drives you to collect?

[everymoss09]

dude, most of the stuff i buy came from online, i almost never buy from retail,

because of the scalpers in my area.

when i think about it, sometimes its cheaper to buy online, because of the gas money i spent hunting toys from store to store,

what drives me to collect is not the thrill of the hunt, i just wanna complete my collection

[MikeC123]

the hunts cool,... but it can be bad too it drives you to do crazy acts. example driving an hour or more away just to spend a crap load of money on gas and TOYS. I must admitte its great to have that hunt feeling but it also gets adicting, and once you become an addict every thing else takes a back seat... I dont buy every thing that comes out anymore I just casually collect and I am happy with that.

[Ninjak]

I used to love the hunt as well, but I agree that there is far less to hunt for of late. But back in the day it was quite a thrill to walk into the action figure aisle of Wal-Mart, Target or TRU and see the latest Wave of Legends hanging there on the pegs. I used to love the old ToyBiz clamshell packaging. It was so eye catching and cool.

 

Some the favorite Action Figures finds of mine were the Wal-Mart Giant-Man series. (I drove 20 minutes on a whim to Wal-Mart on a Friday afternoon not expecting to find anything at all, but boom there they were). Then about a week later I found Face-Off Series 1 at another Wal-Mart. It seems like I always find the figures I want when I least expect it. I found Toybiz ML Series 6, Mojo Series and MODOK Series and the Hasbro Red Hulk and Ares Series, as well as DCUC series 3 and 9 almost all by accident. On each of those occasions I wasn't really expecting to find anything (and on some occasions I wasn't really even looking), but I just happened to be passing by a TRU, Wal-Mart or Target and figured "what the heck?"

 

For example when I was looking for the Mojo series - I had just left a Wal-Mart (with no luck) and was actually on my way to TRU, when I decided (at the last second mind you) to go ahead and stop by Target as well. I was a bit pressed for time and originally had no intention of stopping at that Target because I usually had no luck there at all, but when I reached the action figure aisle, you could have knocked me over with a feather. They had the entire series (sans variants). The TRU or Wal-Mart never got them in at all BTW. Plus, I beat a guy there by about one minute who promptly took every figure I left behind and threw them in his cart. I tried to strike up a conversation, but he just gave me a semi-dirty look and walked away. I figured he must have been a scalper and counted my lucky stars that I had gotten there just before him. The exact same thing happened when I found the entire DCUC 9 Chemo wave one Thursday morn at TRU. Guy came right up behind me and grabbed every figure that I left on the pegs without even looking at them.

 

The last time I experienced the real thrill of hunting and finding action figures was about 6 months ago when I found all of the new Legends 2-packs at TRU one morning. I had been making 2 trips a week for about a month, and when I walked in that aisle and finally saw all that shiny new plastic goodness, I was pretty stoked.

 

Hopefully Hasbro will come through in 2012 and we will once again get to experience the thrill of finding Legends figures in the wild, instead of having to pay out the nose for them on Ebay and other online retailers.

[MikeC123]

true that. I remember walking into walmart in 2006 and i saw all giant man wave, 2 packs, and icons. Walmart also had layway back then so I would grab every thing i needed at once regardless of price. those were the haydays, damn Imiss those days!

[fro02]

I LOVE THE HUNT!!! Retail or online yeah it was fun when there was a lot of legends at the stores and the week they came out running to each store and see if i can get all the series but with gas these days id rather go online the shipping cost dont even bother me instead of waisting gas and not finding anything these days.

[shokker]

yeah well the hunt is pretty dead to me. mattel and hasbro dont deliver in europe so the hunt is realy dead. i get my neca figs at work and the rest is all from the net. i really stopped runing around and get dissapointed once more. back in my hunting days i even drove 100 miles to the next toysrus to hope that they have something special like an exclusive but no it stays all in the us when they mean toysrus exclusives. so thanks for the net because otherwise i would be done collecting. here and then i get surprised when i find a new spidey villain in decades but it is not that i go around like crazy and look for it. when i am around a toyshop or mall i go in to check but thats about it.

[Zedhatch]

I try not to be judgemental to anyone, but to me the hunt is a pretty empty reason to collect. I'm not trying to be a snarky dick but I have never found another way to say it.

 

Don't get me wrong there is a certain thrill of finding a hard to find figure in the store finally after searching so much. Thing is that high wears off as soon as you get home and only gets revitalized if you find something else. Really (witht he exception of MU, which I think will be better this year) almost anything can be found at multiple stores all over the place. "The Hunt" is kind of easy when it gets like that. It's hard to get excited about finding common items you also want. Hulkbuster IM was really exciting when I first found him but now he is everywhere, if it was just the hunt I would feel kind of let down now.

 

Really I like characters, sometimes different versions of of certain characters (depends on the character) but that is what drives my collecting anymore. I don't fault anyone for collecting how they want, but I have never understood "the hunt."

[D00MTR0N]

a long time ago when gas was below 2 million a gallon and retail actually stocked,the "hunt" was fun,now its futile...

[MikeC123]

I try not to be judgemental to anyone, but to me the hunt is a pretty empty reason to collect. I'm not trying to be a snarky dick but I have never found another way to say it.

 

Don't get me wrong there is a certain thrill of finding a hard to find figure in the store finally after searching so much. Thing is that high wears off as soon as you get home and only gets revitalized if you find something else. Really (witht he exception of MU, which I think will be better this year) almost anything can be found at multiple stores all over the place. "The Hunt" is kind of easy when it gets like that. It's hard to get excited about finding common items you also want. Hulkbuster IM was really exciting when I first found him but now he is everywhere, if it was just the hunt I would feel kind of let down now.

 

Really I like characters, sometimes different versions of of certain characters (depends on the character) but that is what drives my collecting anymore. I don't fault anyone for collecting how they want, but I have never understood "the hunt."

 

 

WTF?? I just wasted 30 seconds of my life reading this post. the hunt is when you find out a release date and then you go to a store to find it and purchase it. I dont know if you are JADED or what but it sounds like a personal problem. the thrill is owning and displaying a new figure that just comes out, if you wait on a new figure and its a really good figure then you risk spending a lot more money on a online purchase.

[crueshopofhorrors]

a long time ago when gas was below 2 million a gallon and retail actually stocked,the "hunt" was fun,now its futile...

 

 

Agreed, 100%!

[Zedhatch]

I try not to be judgemental to anyone, but to me the hunt is a pretty empty reason to collect. I'm not trying to be a snarky dick but I have never found another way to say it.

 

Don't get me wrong there is a certain thrill of finding a hard to find figure in the store finally after searching so much. Thing is that high wears off as soon as you get home and only gets revitalized if you find something else. Really (witht he exception of MU, which I think will be better this year) almost anything can be found at multiple stores all over the place. "The Hunt" is kind of easy when it gets like that. It's hard to get excited about finding common items you also want. Hulkbuster IM was really exciting when I first found him but now he is everywhere, if it was just the hunt I would feel kind of let down now.

 

Really I like characters, sometimes different versions of of certain characters (depends on the character) but that is what drives my collecting anymore. I don't fault anyone for collecting how they want, but I have never understood "the hunt."

 

 

WTF?? I just wasted 30 seconds of my life reading this post. the hunt is when you find out a release date and then you go to a store to find it and purchase it. I dont know if you are JADED or what but it sounds like a personal problem. the thrill is owning and displaying a new figure that just comes out, if you wait on a new figure and its a really good figure then you risk spending a lot more money on a online purchase.

 

Dude, take a pill, there is absolutlely no reason for such an overreaction like that.

 

re-read the initial post again, it sounds like you are not catching what the thread is about.

[Obliterator999]

Is the "hunt" limited to retail purchases? Definitely not, because I get the same sort of thrill when finding things online. Not to mention it's a lot cheaper and environmentally friendly!

 

Sometimes I meet people who absolutely don't get the point of collecting and don't understand how much work really goes into it. I've been called a compulsive shopper (even a hoarder, which is downright insulting) but they couldn't be further from the truth. I have set myself countless limits which I just won't cross, except on some rare occasions to get hard-to-come-by items. For example, Transformers: I won't pay more than $10 for a deluxe figure or $15 for a voyager. G.I.Joes, I won't pay more than $7-8 a figure; Marvel Legends/DCUC, $10...

So finding the figures I want for the price *I* want is quite a task and I spend many hours per week combing ebay or forums or other online stores for *the* deal. Finding it brings quite a bit of satisfaction.

[Ninjak]

Actually it's not really the "hunt" that enjoy... it's the finding.

 

I just get more of sense of satisfaction finding what I want at retail and being able to hold it in my hands and look it over before I buy it. I wish like hell they would have release dates for these things (like they do DVDs and books, etc.) and I could just go in on that day and find what I want in abundance. It would definitely save a lot of headaches and gas, but unfortunately that's not the way it is. So, when I do actually get to go into a store and find what I'm looking for and am able to walk out the door with it right then and there, it's just a little bit sweeter than when I have go to Ebay or something, pay extra for shipping and then wait a week or more for it to show up in the mail - and then, on top of that, hope that it's in good shape.

[gpmartin414]

I'm not a fan of the hunt at all. There's poor distribution in my area. When we do get something, it's snatched away as soon as it hits the pegs. Since I have a full-time day job, I can't be at TRU at 9 AM or at Walmarts at 11 PM. And with gas as high as it is, buying online is really the only reasonable option.

 

The thing I hate is when there are store exclusives like the Gigantic Battles sets that aren't available online from an e-tailer. And the eBay prices on them are bad ($50 for a $25 toy -- and shipping!).

 

 

[MikeC123]

Sorry but on-line is not a hunt your sitting down making a couple clicks on a mouse, then you sit there and wait about a week for your item to arrive. some times feels good to get a cool figure but when it shows up like crap with loose joints, and not in the original box...not the same.

[gpmartin414]

Sorry but on-line is not a hunt your sitting down making a couple clicks on a mouse, then you sit there and wait about a week for your item to arrive. some times feels good to get a cool figure but when it shows up like crap with loose joints, and not in the original box...not the same.

 

The point is that I don't like the hunt. I don't have the time and gas is very expensive. Plus, I can't compete with the guys who are at TRU at 9 AM getting all the best stuff or the guys who go to Walmart at midnight, because I have a big-boy job.

 

I don't collect these things because I enjoy driving Walmart to Walmart, only to come up empty-handed 99% of the time; I collect them because I enjoy Marvel characters.

[Obliterator999]

I don't collect these things because I enjoy driving Walmart to Walmart, only to come up empty-handed 99% of the time; I collect them because I enjoy Marvel characters.

 

Could not have said it better myself.

[wolverine2281]

Sorry but on-line is not a hunt your sitting down making a couple clicks on a mouse, then you sit there and wait about a week for your item to arrive. some times feels good to get a cool figure but when it shows up like crap with loose joints, and not in the original box...not the same.

some people might disagree. Especially those trying get get figures from HTS when they pop up. They might consider that a hunt :)

[gpmartin414]

Sorry but on-line is not a hunt your sitting down making a couple clicks on a mouse, then you sit there and wait about a week for your item to arrive. some times feels good to get a cool figure but when it shows up like crap with loose joints, and not in the original box...not the same.

some people might disagree. Especially those trying get get figures from HTS when they pop up. They might consider that a hunt :)

 

I miss when HTS.com put new waves up early and by singles. Now, they put up an entire case (with at least five peg-warmers) a month or two late. Being able to get them from HTS.com was how I was able to get the first seven or so waves. Having a desk job works out in that regard : )

 

[Zedhatch]

The point is that I don't like the hunt. I don't have the time and gas is very expensive. Plus, I can't compete with the guys who are at TRU at 9 AM getting all the best stuff or the guys who go to Walmart at midnight, because I have a big-boy job.

 

I don't collect these things because I enjoy driving Walmart to Walmart, only to come up empty-handed 99% of the time; I collect them because I enjoy Marvel characters.

 

Totally agree 100%

[Professor]

I've really enjoyed reading all the thoughts and opinions you've all presented. I completely agree that traveling between 4 or 5 stores with gas at what it is is simply unrealistic but I did miss the glory days of the hunt. I would also like to say the hunt was only a portion of my collecting experience. I also enjoy completing teams or whatever. Finding good deals on ebay or the internet is also exciting but not nearly as exciting as finding, seeing, that rare chase figure hanging there on the peg. Especially now with gas and such limited retail availability has pretty much ended that thrill. I also really hate the town I currently live in with only one crappy Walmart and literally nothing else for nearly 150 miles in any given direction. I also lack a comic book store in my town which really sucks. I do miss the glory days of the hunt and my collecting though.